Finishing touches added to Northwestern's Ryan Field ahead of Friday opener

The powerful voice of Ian Rucker singing the national anthem with an F-16 flyover by the Indiana National Guard will set the stage. We can’t wait to share all of it with the world on Friday night,” Pat Ryan, Jr., CEO of Ryan Sports Development, said in a statement. New Ryan Field will be the Chicago area s first new stadium of its size in the 35 years since the White Sox built their current ballpark in 1991. Northwestern s football team is ready to play in the new stadium after playing home games in a temporary lakefront stadium since the demolition of old Ryan Field in 2024. “Best venue in college football. It’s just truly a blessing to be able to have a stadium like that and I think that’ll give us a real home field advantage, said Northwestern senior running back Joe Himon. New Ryan Field will be packed for Northwestern’s first game Friday night under the lights against Penn State, with tickets sold out to the nationally televised game. “We had a chance to go look at it and do a walk through the other day. Like, it’s as cool of any place I’ve ever been, ever. I’ve been growing up around football a long time. I’ve never seen a stadium like that, said Northwestern Quarterbacks Coach Jerry Neuheisel. Old Ryan Field had a larger seating capacity, but the new stadium has more square footage with extra room between seats and space for field bars, party deck, clubs, restaurants, and festival grounds. “It’s modern and yet intimate and it’s everything college football should be. You know, there’s a touch of nostalgia, yet there’s the modern of how straight up. Then you have the Wildcat Wall, said Neuheisel. The Wildcat Wall is a 33-degree angled section for 2,000 students to stand directly on top of the end zone. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere with everybody there and everybody’s, it’s like enclosed, in that it’s going to be pretty loud in there, said Himon. The seats are covered to keep rain and snow off the fans. New Ryan Field will hold 35,000 people which is smaller than the old stadium’s capacity of about 47,000. “You can be playing in front of 35,000 but it’s going to sound like 120(thousand) in there and you got everything you want,” said Neuheisel. Northwestern is scheduled to host Penn State this Friday at 7pm in new Ryan Field. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.